Five defeats in a row isn't good by any stretch of the imagination. But it's what we're having to deal with after another frustrating day out, with Preston North End the latest team to gain from the Glovers downfall. No complaints at the scoreline at all - the first half was a relatively even affair, with our 1-0 lead possibly a little flattering. However, once we got into the second half, then bar a fleeting five or ten minutes right at the end, this was one way traffic that could have seen a rather more concerning result than the 3-2 one we came home with.

There were a few eyebrows raised at the starting line-up for the game, my own included. I had expected Gary Johnson to largely stick with the same line-up that had lost to Sheffield United, on the basis that he (and most of those present at Huish Park) saw that one as an improved performance. The main issue last week appeared to be the lack of firepower, and so given the goal was to try to get ourselves out of the hole that we were in, continuity based on that performance seemed the most likely scenario. Instead we got three changes. Gozie Ugwu's inclusion for James Hayter seemed reasonable given the lack of throughput up front against the Blades. However, dropping Richard Hinds and Sam Foley was a surprise, as both have performed well for us this season. I guess the onus on any manager is to include new loan signings in the starting line-up quickly, otherwise there's no point in bringing them in, but there did seem to be a few more worthy candidates for the chop.

Not that the initial team selection can be used too much for reasons why we lost the game, given that we started quite well. Or at least I assume we started quite well. A slight faux pas on our directions after leaving the pub from our pre-match pint and lunch (the Withy Trees is to be recommended) meant that we missed kick-off. That takes talent having arrived in the city three hours previously. But overall, the 4-5-1 did exactly what you'd hoped a 4-5-1 would do away from home. It stifled the opposition, and we looked organised in the way that we did it, albeit with the limitation that any outlet towards Gozie Ugwu meant that we had to play the ball fairly long.

Preston's failing in the first half seemed to be their own unwillingness to commit players forward, which meant that neither side created too much during the opening 45 minutes. They exploited the wing areas pretty well, but as soon as they put balls into the box, there were six or seven Yeovil players in there, and only two Preston players. As such it was quite easy to fend them off. The home side were on top, but not in a way that felt threatening.

The big question really has to be "where did it all go wrong?" and to be honest, I don't absolutely know. Preston were attacking the opposite end to ourselves in the second period, and so it was harder to see if they were pushing greater numbers forward as a half time instruction, or whether we were pushing players deeper. Either way there were no substantial tactical changes. Probably the major things to note were that Gavin Williams barely got a sniff in the second half, whilst Gozie Ugwu got more and more isolated and thus also became less effective.

Although it had been sort of coming before that, I'd say the equalising goal had a huge effect upon the game, and I think that is where I would largely agree with Gary's post-match assessment that we are a team facing a bit of a crisis of confidence. Whereas we'd held onto the ball relatively well in the first half, and in fact had forced Preston into losing possession on a large number of occasions, by the time Jeffrey Monakana stuck his goal in, we had a bad case of the jitters.

The second and third goals had a touch of the Keystone Cops. No matter what the tannoy announcer or the Press Association say, Chris Beardsley didn't get a touch on the goal he's been credited with - that one falls with Luke Ayling only. He's not had a good season in the matches I've seen this year, and whilst he was under pressure from Beardsley, it was a badly directed header. Then Daniel Burn also directed into his own net - a little more sympathy for this one, as the ball largely ricocheted off his shins. Burn had a fairly decent debut overall, and it was good to see a centre-back with a natural left foot clearing the ball at other times during the game. Even better to see him get one in the right end of the net after that.

If we had got an equaliser at that point, it would have been daylight robbery. But we damn nearly did, as Byron Webster headed towards goal, only to find Bailey Wright on the goal-line to prevent a 3-3 scoreline. Apparently Sky Sports actually gave this one as a goal, so I pity those watching their Soccer Saturday programme, who later found out it was in error. Was it over the line? I had a fairly decent view of it, and whilst I naturally screamed at the linesman for not giving it, I will admit I was screaming in optimism - I thought it had been cleared just in front of the line.

As already implied, we lost control of the midfield during the second half. I think that had a big bearing on Ed Upson's eventual sending off - the tackles were getting stretched, and Ed went back to his bad old ways that saw him pick up a few too many bookings during the first half of last season. Both fairly clear yellow cards, so I don't think the referee had too much option there. Ed wasn't the weak link though - I felt the problems stemmed more from the two flanks being exposed, which in turn forced the central players out of position to try to stop Preston's wide players.

There is clearly now pressure on both manager and players to break this five match losing run. A bit of context is needed here though, in that of those defeats, I don't think anyone would be surprised if AFC Bournemouth, Milton Keynes Dons, Sheffield United and Preston North End were all in the top six come the end of the season. The Leyton Orient defeat in the middle is the obvious stinker, but the other defeats may not look quite so bad once we get a chance to look back. What's important now is that we don't let five defeats turn into six, and then into seven - each defeat will see that pressure grow exponentially.

During the month of October, we have matches against Portsmouth (17th), Colchester United (20th), Bury (24th), Shrewsbury Town (16th) and Crewe Alexandra (15th) who are all below us in the table at present. That's a bit of a double-edged sword. Firstly those games should be seen as winnable ones - the trip to Tranmere Rovers (1st) is the only game against a top half of the table side, so there are clear points up for grabs. However, it also means that we need to get the better of those sides to ensure that any slide down the table is not accelerated by gifting those teams wins that can leapfrog us. One thing is certain - we'll know if there is genuine reason for concern by the end of this month.

So how does Gary fix what is currently a little bit broken? Obviously just one win (or even a draw) can change the mentality of a losing team, so that's got to be the priority, even if it is done so by the ugliest means possible. If I was him, I'd also be looking at the defensive statistics around the two matches where he's dropped Richard Hinds from the side.

Across the whole of the 2012-13 season we've conceded 13 goals in nine matches, so in that respect the defence has done fairly well. However, in the two matches that Hinds has sat on the bench, we've conceded seven goals. In the seven matches he has played in, we've conceded six goals. This may not give the full story behind those two games, but in isolation is something worth thinking about.

Onward we go to tomorrow night's game against Portsmouth. Based on their form this season, and their perilous financial state, we should be aiming for all three points. I only hope that we don't treat them as 'Former Premier League Giants' as they are in League One for very good reasons, and their current state and start to the season doesn't suggest that they'll be going up this year. So treat them as 'League One lower mid-table strugglers' and ignore the name on their shirts. If we get sucked into who we are playing too much, then we'll be in danger of playing into their own hands.

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